Generations Waspinator

As I've mentioned before, I was a fan of the Beast Wars series.  The figures, not so much.  As a refresher, here's what a Waspinator looked like from that line.

Well, the Japanese version, at least.  Pulled from TFWiki.net

Ugh..no thanks.  Waspinator, the character?  Absolutely delightful.  He was comedic relief, but I was still drawn to him.  Outside of Beast Wars, Waspinator has become a character in the IDW Transformers: Robots in Disguise series.  Then again, who hasn't been seen in that book?  Freaking Sky-Byte is in that book, so look for Kicker to show up soon.  Anyway, on to the figure.

Waspinator was available in the same wave as Skids, and just like I was unable to procure a Skids so many months ago, I was unable to get a Waspinator in my grubby mitts.  Thankfully, with Hasbro doing another production run, Waspinator is mine.  The wasp mode is head and shoulders above the original version.  His robot mode legs aren't jutting out of his abdomen.  Instead, they fold up under his head.

There's a button on his thorax that makes the wings flap.  I may have pressed it once or twice.  Maybe three times.  That bump on the abdomen is where Waspinator's gun is stored.

My only complaint with Waspinator's wasp mode is the placement of his robot arms.  They're very noticeable.  I understand that the insect legs need something to be placed on, but the hands sticking out just looks odd.  Perhaps if the hands folded into the arms or something.  Still, it's a small thing, and not anything to dwell on.

Waspinator's robot mode is where it's at for me.  Like all insect themed Transformers, the insect legs are clearly visible.  It still doesn't detract from how great looking Waspinator is.  He's so poseable.  While the Beast Wars version of Waspinator had a normal face and then a battle mask, this version features the face as it should be.  I'm still not sure why so many of the original Beast Wars figures had those masks.

Kenner did a fine job with Beast Wars.  IF Hasbro hadn't shoved the Transformers over to the Kenner division, we probably wouldn't be discussing new figures.  Kenner did so much to reinvigorate the brand.  I'm just glad that Hasbro gave us a nice update.